Are You Lonely?

We feel lonely from time to time, even particularly lonely - in a crowd. This is made worse by the sight of others who seem perfectly at ease, are rapidly making friends and are becoming embedded in groups from which you feel excluded..

You can feel lonely in the following situations:

when someone close to you leaves you
when you are not included in a group
when there is no one with whom you can confide your feelings
when you feel that there is no one you can turn to
when you feel withdrawn

Loneliness can make you feel:

unloved and unwanted
socially inadequate
convinced that there is something wrong with you
self-conscious and feeling inferior

What you can do about loneliness?

Remember that loneliness is very common. Almost everyone will feel it at some point in life. It is not abnormal. It is that your expectation of some needs are not being met. Changing the situation may involve finding and developing a circle of friends. It may also mean a change in activities or pursuits.

Choose activities that you are genuinely interested in and enjoy - societies or sports or voluntary work. Do not, however, over-extend yourself, filling your time with too many things just to avoid being alone.

Remind yourself that friendships require time to develop. Build relationships by being a good friend to others.

Respond to others and their interests. Some people are more at ease in groups and others in 'one to one' situations. Consider your own preferences and 'style'. Find others with similar outlooks and interests. Remember that, despite appearances, not everyone is interested in bars or sports.
When should I seek professional help?

You may wish to seek professional help if despite the above suggestions, you still experience the following emotions:

Confused, not knowing what to do
Withdrawn, not willing to open up
A sense of emptiness in life
Angry and critical, both on people and situations
Nervous

Do drop me an email if you need help at rejoice468@yahoo.com

Anxious Minds

What does the word "worry" mean? Interestingly, the word in ancient English means "to choke or to strangle." So when you worry, the meaning of the English word is that somebody has you by your spiritual throat and is choking the life out of you. I think that is about it, isn’t it? When ever you worry you feel a sense of helplessness. It is when my mind is paralyzed and I become incapable of rational thought. It goes around and around and around. Like the merry-go-round. It keeps going, but it doesn’t go anywhere. Another definition that Joyce Meyer mentioned in her book, “Battlefield of the Mind” is “to torment oneself”.

It seems that too many people have become addicted to worrying. In almost every function of their lives, something as simple as fretting over getting to a meeting on time. For others, it can mean being nervous about meeting someone for the first time. And the list goes on:

Ø Finance
Ø Health
Ø Family
Ø Relationship
Ø Community
Ø Work/Study

People with excessive worry often find that they feel uncomfortable with new situations or with situations they can't completely control. Over time chronic worriers can develop a restricted and unfulfilling lifestyle, and worry can begin to affect relationships, work and enjoyment of leisure activities. As a result, individuals with excessive worry often suffer from low self-esteem.

The types of common anxiety symptoms associated with worry that people might experience include:

Feelings of restlessness
Feelings of fatigue
Concentration difficulties
Irritability
Muscle tension
Sleep problems

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'" "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
(Matthew 6:25-34)